Don’t Be Taken in by Dementia ‘Pseudomedicine’

“We don’t have good evidence that this will prevent or delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases,” she says. Yet, people “are spending a lot of time and money pursuing such treatments.”

Many ethicists advise that you should be especially skeptical if you are asked to pay out-of-pocket for supplements or products sold at a medical providers’ offices. Some nutritionists, chiropractors and physicians sell products to create another revenue stream, but the American Medical Association considers this practice a financial conflict of interest.

Dr. Pieter Cohen, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, who leads the Supplement Research Program at Cambridge Health Alliance, says there are ways to vet the reliability of marketing claims. For example, the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements is a relatively unbiased source for good information, as is USP Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit organization that sets quality, purity, strength and identity standards for medicines, food ingredients and dietary supplements.

"If patients want to use a supplement after checking those sources, he advises they look for one with no claims on it."

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2. Beware of misleading claims in ads and on labels.

The language on prescription medication labels is reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA], Cohen says. “It’s also true for over-the-counter drugs like aspirin, Tylenol or Prilosec: the products have to list what’s in them, their risks and how to take them properly,” he adds.

“But labels on dietary supplements sitting on the store shelf right next to aspirin and Tylenol don’t have those requirements, and their accuracy is very poor,” Cohen says. “Anything goes in terms of advertising as long as companies avoid certain language like ‘this supplement cures or prevents Alzheimer’s.’”

“I’d be cautious when reading the back of a supplement container,” Niotis says. “If it says ‘proprietary blend,’ it’s often a red flag that there are things in there that [the company is] not willing to disclose and that probably haven’t been studied in any sort of vigorous manner.”

Health care journalist Gary Schwitzer, adjunct associate professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, recommends people be skeptical of phrases like “trusted science,” “clinically or scientifically shown/tested/or proven,” “revolutionary,” “pharmacist recommended” or “neuroscientist approved.”

3. Think twice about any treatment your health insurance doesn't cover.

Insurance coverage decisions are not arbitrary. They are based on a review of scientific evidence. Cohen, who has been investigating supplements for 15 years, says, “If you find yourself paying out-of-pocket for [a memory supplement], it means that the evidence is not strong enough to demonstrate that it’s effective for preventing or treating Alzheimer’s or another disease,” he says. “The exceptions to that are exceedingly small.”

Two heavily promoted products not covered by health insurance are Prevagen and Neuriva. In a recent post on Schwitzer’s HealthNewsReview on Substack, he points out that the makers of Prevagen, who were prohibited by the Federal Trade Commission from stating that the supplement can improve brain function or memory, have a new 2025 campaign, “Prevagen — For Your Brain” which has drawn legal attention as well.

Neuriva has also come under scrutiny by the TruthinAdvertising.org website, which says that the manufacturer "is allowed to continue claiming that Neuriva is backed by real science, when, in reality, none of the studies it cites reached reliable, statistically significant, conclusive results about the supplement ingredients’ impact on the various measures of cognitive functioning advertised by the company.”

4. Don’t fall for the promise of a quick fix.

While the allure of a pill or a powder to replace science-supported lifestyle changes is compelling, good brain health does not come in a bottle. The reality is, taking care of your brain, arguably your most important organ, takes some work. But it’s worth it.

To achieve better brain health, neurologists recommend ongoing exercise, a brain-healthy diet, restorative sleep, managing stress, learning new things or engaging your brain, and staying socially engaged (see The 6 pillars of brain health). A new report by AARP and others shows that almost half the cases of dementia are potentially preventable or delayable through lifestyle changes or public policies that promote brain health.

5. AI doesn’t always get it right. If you have concerns about your brain health, speak to your doctor.

A 2025 study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that participants looking at medical responses could not effectively distinguish between AI-generated responses and those from a doctor; they even rated AI-generated responses as significantly more valid, trustworthy and complete or satisfactory.

“We know that AI can hallucinate, giving us answers that don’t really make sense,” says cognitive specialist Dr. Arjun Masurkar, assistant professor of neurology and neuroscience at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “That’s why you should ask your doctor about the information [that AI] is suggesting,” he adds.

Your doctors can lead you to "science that has a diverse and large population of people who are and are not getting the treatment and compares those two groups — what we call a randomized controlled trial, the gold standard for evaluating how well a particular medication or supplement works,” Niotis says.

Another reason to speak with your doctor is that medications and certain health conditions can affect your memory. “It’s important to get [your concerns] checked out. Supplements can also interact with your prescription medication or affect your blood test results,” Cohen explains.

“There are some supplements that can mimic a prescribed medication and effectively double your dose,” Masurkar warns. “Huperzine A [a supplement touted as supporting memory and focus] works similarly to the cholinesterase inhibitors sometimes prescribed for Alzheimer’s patients, so if you add it, you’ll have double the side effects,” he cautions.

Bottom line: Be wary of anyone who promises that their one solution will fix your problem. “There isn’t a magic pill or treatment you can take that’s going to improve or reverse your cognitive impairment or delay onset of dementia,” Niotis says.